The present invention relates to theft prevention and stolen equipment recovery. More particularly, the invention relates to a method and apparatus for preventing theft of drink dispenser machines and/or facilitating the recovery of stolen drink dispenser machines by disabling operation of illegitimately moved machines while encouraging the possessor thereof to call a central service location.
Theft of beverage dispenser machines is estimated to cost the food and beverage service industry millions of dollars per year in equipment replacement and lost resources. Unfortunately, the wide range of equipment placement scenarios and relatively low per machine cost has made the theft problem unusually difficult for the industry to challenge. For example, because beverage dispensers are located in a wide array of store fronts, ranging from large multinational chains to small, family owned neighborhood shops, integration with stored security systems is frustrated by the high cost associated with custom installation. Likewise, the provision of automatic dialers or similar hardware for alerting a central alarm monitoring center requires a dedicated connection to a telephone line that upon legitimate movement of the dispenser must also be moved. Finally, satellite tracking system based approaches, such as implementations utilizing the Global Positioning System (GPS), are generally too expensive to practically integrate into beverage dispensers and, even when not, are easily compromised by the breaking off of antennas or disruption of power. On the other hand, simple reporting of the serial numbers for stolen beverage dispenser machines has proven unreliable due to the service technician""s inability to verify every serial number within the time constraints of a routine service call. As a result it has been found that stolen dispenser machines often receive the same service from the service company as a drink dispenser machine in the hands of a rightful owner.
It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to improve over the prior art by providing a theft prevention system particularly adapted for integration within a beverage dispenser machine. It is a further object of the present invention to provide such a system that is inexpensive in implementation, reliable in operation and difficult to thwart. Further, because no prevention scheme can be fail proof and because, even when covered by insurance, replacement costs for stolen equipment generally exceed coverage, it is yet another object of the present invention to provide such a system that also actively contributes to the recovery of stolen beverage machines.
In accordance with the foregoing objects, the present inventionxe2x80x94a method and apparatus for theft prevention and/or recovery of stolen drink dispensersxe2x80x94generally comprises the provision of an anti-theft device within a drink dispenser machine for detecting illegitimate movements of the machine and thereafter disabling the machine""s operation. According to the preferred method of the present invention, the disruption of operation is accompanied by the indication on the machine""s display panel alerting the possessor of a general failure and requesting the placement of a maintenance service call. Concurrently, an innocuous indicator is also activated for alerting the responding service technician to the possibility that the dispenser machine under repair is stolen. It is predicted that theft of drink dispenser machines incorporating the present invention will be prevented by the general knowledge that a stolen machine will not operate and that, in the case of an unwitting thief, recovery of stolen machines will be enhanced by the covert communication of the stolen status of the machine to responding service technician.
Finally, many other features, objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the relevant arts, especially in light of the foregoing discussions and the following drawings, exemplary detailed description and appended claims.